KOTTAYAM: The residents of Aravupuzha near Thazhathangadi, where an under-construction protection wall on the banks of Meenachil river collapsed on Sunday night, have urged the authorities to reconstruct the wall at the earliest.The debacle has created panic among the residents as they fear that, during monsoon, floods will create havoc in the areas adjacent to the collapsed wall.
Meanwhile, a meeting chaired by Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan at the Collectorate, has decided to beef up night patrolling in the area to combat illegal sand mining.
Two motorboats, costing `45 lakh, will be purchased to carry out the patrol.
Also, a committee of PWD officials, irrigation department and other stakeholders, has been formed under the chairmanship of the District Collector to expedite the maintenance work of the collapsed wall.
The meeting arrived at the conclusion that the illegal sand mining and heavy undercurrents in the river triggered the collapse.
An agency will be entrusted to study the cause in detail, the officials said.
However, the residents alleged that the hasty and mindless construction of the wall resulted in the crash. “The authorities wanted to finish the work in a week to make it ready for inauguration by next week. They did not carry out the necessary soil tests. Though deep cracks appeared on the road three days ago, the authorities did not examine these cracks properly,” said Salim, a local resident.
Of the total length of 650 metres of the wall, almost a portion of 150 meters has caved in, leaving half the road to sink into the river.
Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, District Collector Mini Antony, RDO T M Jacob, ADM T V Subhash and other officials from various departments visited the site on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment